[ben_w]

> Unless a virus took control of a semiconductor fab, it's hard to argue that they are alive/reproducing in the context of this discussion.

It does not seem implausible at this point to imagine a virus which gets to control some currency, uses it place an order for parts to be assembled, delivered to a location, connected to power, etc.

It is, in a sense, taking control by pulling the levers supplied by our society. Is that alive?

I would say no, it is not 'alive'… but I would also paraphrase Dijkstra: "The question of whether an AI or computer virus is 'alive' is no more interesting than the question of whether a submarine can swim."